Honeypot or not?

Honeypot or not?

Boutique store to accompany cannabis dispensary

By Colin Patrick Brady

Chris Stone stands outside the future site of his marijuana dispensary at 628 E. Adams St.

Chris Stone is chief executive and spokesman of Health Care Illinois Alternatives (HCI), which is slated to open a medical cannabis dispensary at 628 E. Adams St. in March – but he has other joints in the fire. For one, he hopes to augment the dispensary with an adjacent boutique, tentatively named The Honeypot, in order to specialize in private label, non-cannabis products such as salves, lotions, disposable vaping pens, beverages, foods, oils and tinctures. The one fly in the ointment, according to Stone, is that the name may need to be reconsidered.

“There is a California agency that uses the name Honeypot too, and they have the rights.” Not one to be dissuaded by nomenclature, Stone says that if it ends up that they can’t use the Honeypot name they will continue to move forward and “develop a unique name that associates with medically infused cannabis items and accessories.”

Regardless of the name, the two businesses will work hand in hand. “Essentially, we are looking to be a supplier of hemp-infused products and to serve as a place to get items you would not normally find elsewhere” Stone continues.

Stone, who is also principal of the lobbying and consulting firm Governmental Consulting Solutions, said that he first became interested in the cannabis dispensary business in 2010 when a client asked him to investigate a potentially good market for investment. The relatively new and untapped potential of medical cannabis dispensaries seemed a good fit. Illinois passed the Medical Marijuana Act three years later in May 2013. The Illinois Compassionate Care Act lists 39 ailments for certification and treatment by medically approved cannabis.

Stone is optimistic about both HCI and the still-to-be-named boutique store, despite already having weathered a few regulatory hassles. “With any new state programs, you run into hiccups in bureaucracy” he says, pointing out that the state has been helpful in implementing the dispensary.

Stone believes he is offering a solid alternative to highly addictive pills for those seeking pain relief as well as those facing other medical issues. “My store will help get people away from prescribed opioids,” he says.

For more information, visit www.mynewmeds.com or email Stone at emsmidwestllc@gmail.com.